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Smoltek Semi­con­duc­tors

Powering next-gen AI chips with ultra-thin capacitors

The grow­ing demand for ultra-thin capac­i­tors in advanced appli­ca­tions requires high­er capac­i­tance den­si­ty and supe­ri­or high-fre­quen­cy per­for­mance. Smoltek’s CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy is a next-gen­er­a­tion solu­tion that deliv­ers high capac­i­tance den­si­ty in a small form fac­tor. The tech­nol­o­gy uses a sin­gle dielec­tric stack, which reduces pro­duc­tion costs com­pared to the mul­ti­ple stacks used in DTCs. This process works on sil­i­con, glass, alu­minum, and oth­er sub­strates, increas­ing design flex­i­bil­i­ty. CNF-MIM capac­i­tors deliv­er supe­ri­or pow­er effi­cien­cy for high-per­for­mance com­put­ing, auto­mo­tive appli­ca­tions, pre­mi­um con­sumer elec­tron­ics, and more.

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Key technology partners

Our offer

CNF-MIM capacitors enables high-performance electronics across industries

The most demand­ing elec­tron­ic appli­ca­tions require next-gen­er­a­tion, ultra-thin capac­i­tors that deliv­er high capac­i­tance den­si­ty, excep­tion­al high-fre­quen­cy per­for­mance, robust tem­per­a­ture sta­bil­i­ty, and very low loss­es. Smoltek Semi pro­vides the foun­da­tion­al tech­nol­o­gy to meet these demands.

We use car­bon nanofibers (CNFs) to cre­ate an immense 3D sur­face for met­al-insu­la­tor-met­al (MIM) capac­i­tors. Unlike DTC, our process works on more than just sil­i­con and uses only a sin­gle dielec­tric stack, increas­ing flex­i­bil­i­ty while reduc­ing man­u­fac­tur­ing com­plex­i­ty and cost. These fea­tures make our CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy an ide­al solu­tion for the world’s most demand­ing applications.

AI & HPC

AI work­loads and high-per­for­mance com­put­ing (HPC) demand excep­tion­al pow­er deliv­ery with up to eight times more capac­i­tors than tra­di­tion­al servers. CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy pro­vides supe­ri­or capac­i­tance den­si­ty where con­ven­tion­al MLCCs reach their phys­i­cal limits.

Premium Smartphones

Space inside pre­mi­um smart­phones is a crit­i­cal con­straint. CNF-MIM’s ultra-thin pro­file deliv­ers high capac­i­tance den­si­ty, enabling place­ment clos­er to the proces­sor. This prox­im­i­ty is key to improv­ing pow­er integri­ty and unlock­ing peak performance.

Wearables

Wear­ables are defined by their spa­tial con­straints. CNF-MIM’s ultra-thin pro­file is a key enabler, offer­ing advanced inte­gra­tion meth­ods like embed­ding capac­i­tors direct­ly in the sub­strate. This saves crit­i­cal space, allow­ing for thin­ner designs and larg­er batteries.

Telecom

High-fre­quen­cy 5G appli­ca­tions require excep­tion­al sta­bil­i­ty and low loss­es. CNF-MIM deliv­ers enhanced sta­bil­i­ty for high-fre­quen­cy com­mu­ni­ca­tion and RF cir­cuits with min­i­mal sig­nal degra­da­tion where tra­di­tion­al capac­i­tors intro­duce unwant­ed impedance.

Automotive

Advanced dri­ver assis­tance sys­tems and EV elec­tron­ics face vibra­tion, tem­per­a­ture vari­a­tions, and strict safe­ty require­ments. CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy pro­vides robust per­for­mance for ADAS sen­sors and pow­er man­age­ment with auto­mo­tive-qual­i­fied reliability.

Defense & Aerospace

The defense and aero­space indus­try requires com­po­nents that deliv­er excep­tion­al reli­a­bil­i­ty in the most demand­ing con­di­tions. CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy pro­vides robust, high-per­for­mance solu­tions for crit­i­cal appli­ca­tions such as radar, com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tems, and avionics.

About us

Built on 20+ years of carbon nanotechnology research

Our approach com­bines 20+ years of car­bon nan­otech­nol­o­gy research from Chalmers Uni­ver­si­ty of Tech­nol­o­gy, patent pro­tec­tion across major semi­con­duc­tor mar­kets, and a team where most R&D staff hold Ph.D.s in nan­otech­nol­o­gy and semi­con­duc­tor processes.

From university research to industrial applications

Smoltek was found­ed in December2005, as a spin-off from research at Chalmers Uni­ver­si­ty of Tech­nol­o­gy with a focus on pre­cise­ly con­trol­ling car­bon nanos­truc­ture growth. Since then, Smoltek has devel­oped this tech­nol­o­gy into prac­ti­cal man­u­fac­tur­ing process­es. Today, Smoltek Semi applies this proven tech­nol­o­gy plat­form to meet the elec­tron­ic indus­try’s need for ultra-thin, high-den­si­ty decou­pling capacitors.

Patent portfolio covering core technology and processes

Smoltek’s intel­lec­tu­al prop­er­ty port­fo­lio includes over 120 patents (grant­ed and pend­ing) cov­er­ing core car­bon nan­otech­nol­o­gy, com­po­nent struc­tures, and man­u­fac­tur­ing process­es. This pro­tec­tion spans major mar­kets includ­ing the US, Europe, Chi­na, Japan, and Korea, with a sub­stan­tial focus on the semi­con­duc­tor industry.

Deep technical knowledge from research to manufacturing

Most of our R&D team holds Ph.D.s in mate­ri­als sci­ence, nan­otech­nol­o­gy, or semi­con­duc­tor engi­neer­ing. Our tech­ni­cal depth spans from fun­da­men­tal car­bon nan­otube growth to inte­gra­tion in semi­con­duc­tor manufacturing.

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Our process

From initial samples to commercial production

We work with indus­tri­al part­ners through a struc­tured devel­op­ment process that aligns with how large enter­pris­es eval­u­ate and inte­grate new tech­nolo­gies. Each stage builds on the pre­vi­ous one, with clear tech­ni­cal and com­mer­cial milestones.

Technical evaluation and samples

We pro­vide engi­neer­ing sam­ples of our CNF-MIM capac­i­tors for your ini­tial test­ing. Your tech­ni­cal team gets direct access to our R&D engi­neers to dis­cuss per­for­mance data, man­u­fac­tur­ing para­me­ters, and poten­tial appli­ca­tions. This stage typ­i­cal­ly involves lab-scale test­ing to val­i­date basic func­tion­al­i­ty and compatibility.

Formal collaboration and feasibility study

Fol­low­ing pos­i­tive ini­tial results, we estab­lish a for­mal col­lab­o­ra­tion agree­ment. This can take the form of a joint devel­op­ment project, fea­si­bil­i­ty study, or tech­ni­cal advi­so­ry agree­ment. We con­duct detailed analy­sis of tech­ni­cal require­ments, man­u­fac­tur­ing inte­gra­tion, and com­mer­cial via­bil­i­ty spe­cif­ic to your applications.

Licensing agreement and design integration

With proven tech­ni­cal and com­mer­cial fea­si­bil­i­ty, we forge a licens­ing part­ner­ship. You gain access to our IP port­fo­lio, man­u­fac­tur­ing know-how, and design doc­u­men­ta­tion. Your engi­neer­ing teams can then per­form detailed design work and inte­grate our tech­nol­o­gy into your pro­duc­tion processes.

Production support and ongoing development

Our rela­tion­ship con­tin­ues through com­mer­cial pro­duc­tion. Your team retains access to our R&D spe­cial­ists for tech­ni­cal sup­port, process opti­miza­tion, and co-devel­op­ment of next-gen­er­a­tion solu­tions. This ensures con­tin­u­ous improve­ment and helps address evolv­ing requirements.

Fea­tures

How CNF-MIM technology addresses industry challenges

As elec­tron­ic com­po­nents shrink while per­for­mance demands increase, con­ven­tion­al capac­i­tors face fun­da­men­tal lim­its. Our CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy over­comes these lim­its by build­ing capac­i­tors on a micro­scop­ic 3D scaf­fold­ing of car­bon nanofibers. This immense sur­face area, cre­at­ed with­in an ultra-thin pro­file, is what enables the unique com­bi­na­tion of per­for­mance and minia­tur­iza­tion detailed below:

High capacitance density

The first gen­er­a­tion of our capac­i­tors, the “CNF-MIM Gen-One,” has a tar­get capac­i­tance den­si­ty of 250 nF/​mm². In future gen­er­a­tions we aim to exceed 1,500 nF/​mm² in an ultra-thin profile.

High frequency

Engi­neered for high-speed sys­tems, our capac­i­tors ensure sta­ble pow­er deliv­ery to advanced proces­sors. With excep­tion­al­ly low induc­tance (ESL < 2 pH) and resis­tance (ESR < 50 mΩ), they are a key advan­tage for pow­er integrity.

Low losses

Our capac­i­tors ensure pow­er is used effec­tive­ly, with an ultra-low leak­age cur­rent of less than 100 pA at 2 V and min­i­mal resis­tive loss­es. This supe­ri­or effi­cien­cy is cru­cial for extend­ing bat­tery life in com­pact, pow­er-sen­si­tive devices.

Temperature stability

We deliv­er reli­able per­for­mance, guar­an­tee­ing sta­bil­i­ty for demand­ing appli­ca­tions. Our tech­nol­o­gy shows only a ~2.5% capac­i­tance change when test­ed up to 125°C, ensur­ing your sys­tem per­forms as designed across wide tem­per­a­ture ranges.

Tes­ti­mo­ni­al

Industry expert perspective on CNF-MIM technology

Lis­ten as Dr. Philip Less­ner pro­vide his expert analy­sis of CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy. Dr. Less­ner is a rec­og­nized expert in pas­sive elec­tron­ic com­po­nents with over 25 years of expe­ri­ence. Since 1996, Dr. Less­ner has spe­cial­ized in capac­i­tors and oth­er pas­sive com­po­nents, and he holds numer­ous patents and pub­li­ca­tions in this field. The inter­view was record­ed dur­ing his tenure as Chief Tech­nol­o­gy Offi­cer at Yageo Group, one of the world’s largest com­po­nent manufacturers.

Fre­quent­ly asked questions

What performance can CNF-MIM achieve?

We have demon­strat­ed 1 µF/​mm² (1,000 nF/​mm²) capac­i­tance den­si­ty with an active lay­er thick­ness of just 6 µm. This com­bi­na­tion of high capac­i­tance and ultra-thin pro­file makes the tech­nol­o­gy suit­able for under-chip inte­gra­tion where height con­straints are crit­i­cal. Pro­to­types using our ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ dielec­tric stack have passed tem­per­a­ture and volt­age stress test­ing. Our devel­op­ment roadmap tar­gets 3,000 nF/​mm² in future generations.

How is CNF-MIM manufactured?

We oper­ate a fab­less mod­el with estab­lished man­u­fac­tur­ing part­ner­ships. ITRI han­dles front-end wafer pro­cess­ing while Tong Hsing pro­vides back-end assem­bly and test­ing. Our addi­tive process uses stan­dard semi­con­duc­tor equip­ment and can be inte­grat­ed into exist­ing pro­duc­tion lines. We pro­vide com­plete tech­nol­o­gy trans­fer pack­ages includ­ing process spec­i­fi­ca­tions and qual­i­ty con­trol procedures.

What does a licensing involve?

Our licens­ing mod­el includes three com­po­nents: upfront licens­ing fees for patent access, non-recur­ring engi­neer­ing fees for inte­gra­tion sup­port and qual­i­fi­ca­tion assis­tance, and pro­duc­tion roy­al­ties based on net sales of prod­ucts incor­po­rat­ing our tech­nol­o­gy. The spe­cif­ic terms are struc­tured based on your appli­ca­tion and vol­ume requirements.

What applications is addressed?

We start with dis­crete capac­i­tors for imme­di­ate mar­ket appli­ca­tions. The devel­op­ment roadmap includes embed­ded capac­i­tors with­in chip pack­ag­ing sub­strates, fol­lowed by on-chip inte­gra­tion for place­ment close to proces­sors. Each step requires spe­cif­ic tech­ni­cal adap­ta­tions but builds on the same core CNF-MIM platform.

What support do you provide?

Our R&D team works direct­ly with your engi­neer­ing teams through­out the inte­gra­tion process. This includes design opti­miza­tion for your spe­cif­ic appli­ca­tions, process para­me­ter adjust­ment, qual­i­fi­ca­tion test­ing sup­port, and ongo­ing tech­ni­cal con­sul­ta­tion. We main­tain this rela­tion­ship through pro­duc­tion and future prod­uct development.

Your questions answered

Eval­u­at­ing new capac­i­tor tech­nol­o­gy requires under­stand­ing per­for­mance spec­i­fi­ca­tions, man­u­fac­tur­ing require­ments, and inte­gra­tion path­ways. Here are answers to com­mon ques­tions about CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy from our tech­ni­cal dis­cus­sions with indus­try partners.

We active­ly seek part­ner­ships with capac­i­tor man­u­fac­tur­ers and elec­tron­ics com­pa­nies to bring CNF-MIM tech­nol­o­gy to mar­ket. Our R&D team works direct­ly with prospec­tive part­ners to eval­u­ate com­mer­cial opportunities.

Con­tact us

Our Promise

How we will work with you

We under­stand that adopt­ing dis­rup­tive tech­nol­o­gy requires trans­paren­cy and pre­dictabil­i­ty. Our part­ner­ship approach focus­es on work­ing togeth­er through each tech­ni­cal and com­mer­cial mile­stone in a dis­ci­plined and struc­tured way.

Minimize upfront risk

You don’t need to com­mit to a full-scale license right away. We rec­om­mend start­ing with spe­cif­ic projects, such as fea­si­bil­i­ty stud­ies or joint devel­op­ment work, to address par­tic­u­lar tech­ni­cal issues. This approach enables your engi­neer­ing teams to val­i­date our tech­nol­o­gy with­in your exist­ing sys­tems and appli­ca­tions before mak­ing larg­er commitments.

Clear development timeline with measurable goals

We fol­low a struc­tured devel­op­ment plan with spe­cif­ic per­for­mance tar­gets for each gen­er­a­tion. Gen-One sam­ples have demon­strat­ed 1 µF/​mm² capac­i­tance den­si­ty with 6 µm thick­ness. Gen-Two (2026) and Gen-Three (2027) build on these proven results to achieve high­er per­for­mance tar­gets. We only advance to the next gen­er­a­tion after meet­ing val­i­dat­ed per­for­mance and reli­a­bil­i­ty criteria.

Complete technical capability from research to manufacturing

We cov­er all aspects of CNF-MIM devel­op­ment, pro­vid­ing sup­port through­out your eval­u­a­tion and imple­men­ta­tion process:

  • Research basis: Our tech­nol­o­gy orig­i­nates from research in car­bon nan­otech­nol­o­gy at the Depart­ment of Microtech­nol­o­gy and Nanoscience (MC2), Chalmers Uni­ver­si­ty of Tech­nol­o­gy, begin­ning in 2000. Since Smoltek was found­ed in 2005, we have main­tained a close col­lab­o­ra­tion with Chalmers researchers and con­tin­ue using their spe­cial­ized lab­o­ra­to­ry equip­ment for ongo­ing devel­op­ment as well as hav­ing our own R&D tools at the MC2 laboratory.
  • Process devel­op­ment: We have devel­oped both patent­ed meth­ods and deep know-how for trans­fer our car­bon nanofiber research into man­u­fac­tur­ing process­es. Our patents cov­er the growth and coat­ing tech­niques, while our know-how encom­pass­es the prac­ti­cal details need­ed for con­sis­tent man­u­fac­tur­ing. This com­bi­na­tion enables us to trans­fer lab­o­ra­to­ry results to indus­tri­al-scale man­u­fac­tur­ing using CMOS-stan­dard semi­con­duc­tor equipment.
  • Man­u­fac­tur­ing part­ner­ships: We have estab­lished part­ner­ships that cre­ate a seam­less path from lab to fab for com­mer­cial pro­duc­tion. ITRI, Taiwan’s pre­mier research insti­tute, han­dles front-end wafer pro­cess­ing, while Tong Hsing man­ages back-end assem­bly and test­ing. These estab­lished rela­tion­ships demon­strate our technology’s readi­ness for scal­ing from lab­o­ra­to­ry sam­ples to pro­duc­tion volumes.

This com­plete capa­bil­i­ty means we can sup­port your project from ini­tial sam­ples through com­mer­cial manufacturing.

Whitepa­per

Introducing Smoltek carbon nanofiber technology

A deep dive into the tech­nol­o­gy behind CNF-MIM – get your free copy from Smoltek. This is not a mar­ket­ing brochure, but a 10-page tech­ni­cal whitepa­per authored by our nan­otech­nol­o­gy researchers. Learn about the fun­da­men­tal prop­er­ties of car­bon nanofibers, the cat­alyt­ic growth process, and the appli­ca­tions enabled by the technology.

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